Check also for SuburbanOneSports.com’s complete coverage of Friday night’s Upper Moreland/Upper Merion contest as well as Saturday night’s Hatboro-Horsham /Souderton game.
Abington, according to Council Rock South coach Vince Bedesem, boasts a three-headed monster reminiscent of the Dallas Cowboys’ dynasty of the early 90s.
Instead of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, the Ghosts’ lineup features the dangerous trio of quarterback Sam Kind, wide receiver Anthony Hensley and running back Julien Ireland.
So far, no one has figured out the secret to stopping the Ghosts, who have rolled to a 4-0 record while outscoring their opponents 132-34.
Bedesem’s Rock South squad will be the next team to try when the two teams square off at Schwarzman Stadium on Friday night. “We just have to put pressure on the quarterback and read our keys and read the offensive line,” said Rock South senior fullback/defensive lineman Braxton Ambrose said. “We have to have all 11 guys going to the ball.”
Bedesem acknowledged that the Ghosts come at you with some serious weapons.
“The connection between Kind and Hensley is second to none that I have seen in a long time, and I still think we have to stop the run first,” he said. “You can’t just overlook that because he (Ireland) has been averaging over 100 yards a game running the ball.
“You just have to do your best as far as understanding they’re going to make their yardage and they’re going to score points. You just have to keep pace, but you also can’t get your head down just because something does occur.”
The Ghosts, meanwhile, will have a challenge of their own trying to stop Rock South’s triple option offense that is capably run by quarterback Bill Fleming.
“That’s the most difficult aspect of playing a team like that,” Abington coach Tim Sorber said. “We have looked at a lot of film of them – their first series when they have the ball offensively, they score every time.
“I think that’s because to the kids on the defensive side of the ball – everything is so much quicker. You basically play assignment football when you play a team like Council Rock South. Practice is a lot slower, and everything comes a little easier, and the first series – especially with Fleming, their quarterback – he does a really nice job.”
Last year, the Golden Hawks marched down the field for a touchdown on their first series against Abington. They still wound up on the short end of a 41-21 score.
“We were able to adjust, and that’s the big thing,” Sorber said. “We only see it once, but we’re kind of fortunate – what’s lost in high school football is the scout team player, the kid who gets his tail whipped in practice but gives a good look.”
Abington, according to Sorber, has a good scout team quarterback in Jim Shelinsky.
“He did a nice job of running the scout team this week, but it’s not going to be anywhere near what Fleming can do,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “He’s a pretty special QB.”
In their only loss of the season to Pennsbury, the Golden Hawks marched down the field on their opening possession of the game to go on top 7-0 only to fall 30-7.
“What we really had on that drive was excitement,” Ambrose said. “We were on their field, we had a chip on our shoulder from last year, and we wanted to do good, especially because they’re such a good team.
“We drove the ball down the field, scored, and I think we let it get to our heads a little. What we need to do with Abington and any other team – we need to go out there, keep our heads straight and run our offense. Our offense does great things when we work together and everyone does their job.”
Bedesem is looking for running back Greg Welch, who is coming off a big game against Bensalem, as well as wide receiver Andrew Haviland to step up, and the Golden Hawks’ coach knows that his best defense just might be his offense maintaining possession of the ball.
“We’re going to have to have ball control,” Bedesem said. “We’re going to have to do a better job than we did last year.
“We came out last year and opened up with an eight-minute drive and put seven on the board right away, and they ended up taking us out of our game a little. We have to stick to our game plan and do what we do best, and that is ball control, run our option and just start grinding it out. We do have the capability of scoring points.”
While teams – Rock South undoubtedly included - game plan to take Hensley out of the equation for the Ghosts, few have been successful in containing the gifted wide receiver this season.
“The one thing we have done is that we move him around,” Sorber said. “Last year for the most part, he was our weakside receiver, and teams could easily know where – by our formation – he was going to be and slide their coverage to him.
“The one good thing we had with the bye week before Neshaminy was we were able to practice him playing in a lot of different positions. Hensley is too good to not create spots for him to get the football and make plays.”
While Hensley, Kind and Ireland find themselves in the spotlight, there are other players who have stepped up for the Ghosts as well.
Senior Phil Hagstotz has been key on the offensive line at left tackle.
“He’s one of those kids that played jayvee his sophomore and junior years, and he was given an opportunity and earned the spot on the offensive line,” Sorber said. “He’s playing very well.
“He’s a little undersized compared to some of the other tackles I’ve had but plays with really good technique. He’s a competitor, and when you have a good program, he’s the kind of kid you need, the type of kid that steps up his senior year and starts to produce. I’m very proud of him. He’s worked hard.”
On the defensive line, Jared Claybrook and Justin Goebel have come up big for the Ghosts. Claybrook turned in an outstanding performance in Abington’s win over William Tennent last week while Goebel is a converted outside linebacker turned defensive lineman this fall.
“We came out of camp thinking that we would have some issues on the defensive line, and kids like Jared Claybrook and Justin Goebel have played very well and solidified it,” Sorber said. “Defensive linemen don’t always get a lot of publicity, but they’ve really produced and helped us have success so far.”
The Ghosts know that they’re a marked team since their big win over Neshaminy two weeks ago.
“It just means we have to work harder every week because we know everybody’s out to get us, so we have to make sure we’re better,” said senior Kevin Deal, who returned an interception for a touchdown in the Neshaminy win. “The key is execution. We all have to execute when we have the opportunity to make a play.
The Golden Hawks enter the game decided underdogs, but that’s just fine with Ambrose.
“It’s the biggest excitement because at this point everybody is doubting you, and that gives you more of an urge to go out there and do your best,” he said. “If you end up winning the game, it’s such a great feeling.
“We’ll go into the game all excited – you don’t have to let other people’s negativity get to you.”
Abington and Rock South will kick off at 7 p.m. at Schwarzman Stadium.
“There’s a lot of excitement,” Deal said. “We get a lot of energy from our fans. They’re a very important part it for us.”
Last year: Abington 42, Council Rock South 21
Last week: Abington 35, William Tennent 0 (Julien Ireland rushed for 180 yards and one TD while quarterback Sam Kind was 12-of-19 for 144 yards and one TD)
Council Rock South 35, Bensalem 10 (Greg Welch ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Bill Fleming had 73 yards rushing and one TD.)
On the air:
On Friday night, WBCB 1490 AM will broadcast the Pennsbury at Harry S. Truman football game live at 7 p.m. with pre-game beginning at 6 p.m. The Neshaminy at William Tennent game will be streamed on the internet at www.wbcb1490.com, beginning at 7 p.m. with pre-game beginning at 6:45 p.m. The Pennsbury/Truman game will be re-broadcast on the web following the Neshaminy/William Tennent game.
At 7 p.m. on Friday night, the Central West/North Penn contest will be broadcast live on WNPV 1440 AM.
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